Nearly $1 million in projects in proposed 5-year county plan

ADRIAN — A five-year plan for nearly $1 million in county building and equipment improvements was presented Monday to the Lenawee County Commission’s physical resources committee.

Money for projects ranging from roof replacements to computer software could be set aside in manageable amounts each year instead of delaying maintenance and equipment purchases as long as possible, said county administrator Martin Marshall.

Capital requests come in each year from departments, Marshall said, and most are rejected during the annual budget-writing process.

“The requests are huge, we can’t afford them, and we say, ‘Not this year,’ ” Marshall told the committee.

There is now $265,345 in the county’s building and site fund, he said. If another $150,000 is added each of the next five years, he said, there would be enough to keep up with building and equipment needs.

“It allows us to use the taxpayers’ money a little more strategically,” said deputy administrator Kim Murphy, who assembled the five-year plan with the maintenance department.

Commissioners reacted positively to the proposal, which was sent on for full commission discussion next week.

The highest priority level projects total $441,431, divided nearly equally between building improvements and equipment. Projects in the second of four priority levels total nearly $356,000.

The Rex B Martin Judicial Building has the biggest list of projects, totaling $480,413. Projects there include renovating prosecutors’ offices for an estimated $186,000 and buying a $200,000 software program for the prosecuting attorney’s office. The Robertson building, which houses the county’s computer hub, has $176,783 in projects, including a new roof, cooling system for computer servers and parking lot paving.

No numbers were included in the plan for the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department building because of its uncertain future, Murphy said.

“We are currently evaluating this building on several different levels,” she said.

Two general options are to tear down and replace the 60-year-old building or renovate it. Either option will have a “very huge” budget, her report stated.

Commissioner Cletus Smith, R-Madison Twp., said he believes the county should make a choice and stop making temporary fixes at the sheriff’s department building.

“Something needs to be done with it. We can’t keep throwing money down a dead hole over that,” Smith said.

Although the sheriff’s department building is not included, the five-year capital improvement plan is a positive step, he said.

“This is certainly something we need to look at,” he said. “It’s time we take the county forward.”

While it is a five-year plan, commissioner Chris Wittenbach, R-Clinton, said it would not mean putting off high priority capital improvements until 2018. Priority needs must still be met as soon as practical, he said, and the plan updated as projects are completed.